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Choosing a Commentary
Choosing a commentary depends on:
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Your Audience: The faculty assigning your research is your audience. Be sure to use commentaries that will best support your work in their class. If a commentary is written for a general audience, it does not show your ability to understand critical, exegetical works.
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Your Intent: If you intend to be take seriously, use the "most serious" works to back up your writing.
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The Commentary's Scope and Context: If a commentary is dated, even if highly critical and extensive, it may not have the most recent linguistic, archaeological, or historical discoveries.
When Selecting a Commentary Ask the Following:
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Who wrote it and who is the publisher?
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What audience was this written for?
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When was it written?
You should as the "WHO, WHAT, WHEN" for any work you might cite.
Oxford Biblical Studies Online
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Oxford Biblical Studies Online This link opens in a new windowOxford Biblical Studies Online allows you to compare the Oxford Bible Commentary side by side to other works.
Three Types of Bible Commentaries